May 2001 Dogbowl fund payout: "Tiny"!

Date: May 2, 2001 Hi EskieFriends, My name is Tiny and I'm a 2 yr old "intact" Eskie. I'm a seized abuse case dog. I was tied to a bed for over a year and sometime during the year my leg was "somehow" badly damaged and I was not given vet care......I remained tied to the bed....so I began to chew my leg off. I didn't know how else to get rid of the hurt and pain!! Plus I didn't want to be tied to that bed forever either!! Ever since I was seized by the Animal Control Agency in Milwaukee WI on April 12th, I continued to chew on my leg. Animal Control couldn't do anything for me until I was legally theirs, which was May 1st. The owners(or whatever you want to call "them") tried to get me back but the city said NO!!!! YEEEAAAAA! Unfortunately the Milwaukee "no-kill" shelter gave me the thumbs down because I need so much assistance. I didn't deserve to be PTS either!!

On May 1st, in desperation, the animal control agency in Milwaukee WI called Sarah Kalnajs from Eskie rescue in Madison WI telling her I desperately need surgery. They were hoping Sarah could help me. Despite all of the circumstances I've been through, I am a friendly and placeable dog. My fosterMom picked me up this morning and we went to Sarah's. They have called vets all over the area and the best quote they have gotten is $550.00! This vet will not do payment plans! A couple people are willing to help with my medical costs. Last night Sarah contacted Pat at EskieFriends for a little help. Of course, she couldn't resist helping me!! If my surgery goes as expected, I will only need $350 from EskieFriends. My fosterparents are donating $50 and another friends is donating, plus I'll have my adoption fee to help. My FosterDad is an artist and he is planning to do a special piece of art for an EskieFriends auction or raffle!! What a FosterDad, huh??

Sarah thinks very highly of me. She says of me, "Putting her down would be the final injustice of what has already been an awful life for this little girl". And, don't forget...I'm ONLY 2 years old....I have MANY good years ahead of me, if I just had a good, loving home of my own(cool family in other words!). I'm told I have the most amazing, gentle personality! I am full of kisses and even seem housebroken! We were hoping that the vet could save my leg, but it is totally dead and atrophied. But, I can't feel it; it is beyond saving. I'm already at the vet and will have surgery tomorrow morning (Thursday). Jill and her Eskie Kaiser, personally took my $350 check to a post office last night that has late night pick-up. So the vet should get my check tomorrow, my surgery day!!

BOTH Sarah and I say THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!!! Sarah says I'm a real doll!! I won't be up for adoption until my leg heals and I learn how to walk on 3 legs. But thanks to you, I'm getting a second chance at life. Thank you, my EskieFriends!

Eskie Hugs & Kissses, Luv & Licks,
Tiny, the Eskie Baby Doll!!!




Sarah's 5/03 update: Tiny is HW negative (yeah), her leg comes off at the shoulder today. They don't even know if they will be able to spay her at the same time...it depends on how long the surgery lasts. I hope they don't have to put the dear girl under twice though. She will be staying at the vet clinic again tonight. They are also checking her trachea while she is under. I'll let you know when I hear more. Oh, she weighs only 16 lbs!! They said she has muscle atrophy all over her body from being immobilized to the bed for so long. Poor girl!

----
5/04 update from Pat: Tiny is being kept at the vet for another day and night because she is having more trouble balancing on the three legs than they thought she would and is tipping over ON her very large incision. The surgery went well though. Her trachea is slightly damaged and she will never have a normal bark. We will never be sure how her trachea got damaged.

Of course, this will add to her bill so we may be sending the vet more money. I'll know upon Tiny's release from the vet hospital and the total needed. Hopefully we will have post-op pix soon.



5/07 Update: This report per Suzie, Tiny's fosterMom:

Tiny is doing OK but is not out of the woods. She is still very sensitive about being touched and held and appears to drift out of consciousness once in a while. The vet thinks she may be having an adverse reaction to the pain patch, so has removed the patch and switched her to another pain medication. She has seen this reaction before in other dogs. The incision is healing well and the drain tube has been removed.

The vet would like to keep her for two to three more days until her condition has improved. Despite all she's going through Tiny hasn't once relieved herself in her cage - she waits for the tech to take her outside! Definitely housebroken!

The vet said this morning that the medical bill would not exceed the $635 estimate and that if further treatment is required they will dip into their "indigent dog" fund to cover the balance.



05/07 Update from Pat:  The vet increased her pain medication (used a larger pain patch) and recommended keeping her in the hospital under observation until Monday morning (today) at the earliest. She was concerned that her frequent stumbles would re-open the sutures at the amputation site, so keeping her there would make it possible to attend to any complications without delay.

The vet also spayed Tiny right after amputating her leg. The amputation went faster than expected, so she decided that it would best to do it then rather than put Tiny through the anesthesia ordeal again in a few days or weeks.

Tiny's spay incision does not seem to bother her at all. The vet and technicians are very fond of little Tiny and are doing a superb job with her treatment. The vet is not charging for the extra time Tiny is spending in her care. As far as I know they are still holding to their original estimate of $635. They will present the final bill today when Tiny is released.

Tiny sends lots of hugs and kisses. Sarah's husband has met Tiny and he says the money is being put to great use.
Tiny is SOOOOO sweet! She may be "tiny" in name, but her heart sure isn't "tiny"! :)

05/16 Update from Pat: Tiny is able to navigate STAIRS now and she has people interested in adopting her! She is doing GREAT!

---

Address comments, questions, etc. on items to Pat Cassel at pcassel@pa.net ! Thanks for helping the eskies(and others too)! If you are NOT subscribed to the "Eskie Owner's" mailing list or our new "EskieFriends" mailing list, please see the Mailing List page so you can join us and get all our updates!